What's Wrong with this Picture?

[Anon]

I have the following PHP code. I'm getting the following error 'Parse error: parse error in /home/tickets/public_html/addagent.php on line 31'. Line 31 is market with a comment below. I have gone over this a dozen times, and I've had two other developers in the office browse it over with me. Can you see what is wrong here?

<?php

// Include the init
include 'init.php';


// Check all required values
if ($first == '') {

	$error .= '- First Name is Required.<br>';

};

if ($email == '') {

	$error .= '- Email Address is Required.<br>';

};

if ($password == '') {

	$error .= "- Password is Required.<br>';

};


// Produce error
if ($error != '') {

	echo '<p>The following errors were encountered:</p>';
	echo "<p>$error</p>";		// It says there is an error on this line (31).

	exit;

};


// Get next id
$agentid = getid();


// Connect to MySQL database
$db = mysql_connect ($host, $user, $pass);


// Run insert query
$query = "INSERT INTO agents (agentid, first, last, company, title, phonenum, 
		  extension, faxnum, email, password) VALUES ($agentid, '$first', '$last', '$company', '$title',
		  '$phonenum', '$extension', '$faxnum', '$email', '$password')";
mysql_db_query ('tickets', $query, $db);


// Show results
echo 'Agent added.';

?>

[Anon]

Are you sure the error isn't in 'init.php'; ?

Check that script again. Also, instead of using if ($val == '') {stuff;}
use if (!$val) {stuff;}
and change if ($val != '')
to if ($val)

It will make your code easier to read.

[Anon]

I'm including init.php in other scripts that work fine and are almost exactly the same. Just in case, I'll include the code for it here.

I prefer the longhand if ($val == ''). That matches more how I "think". When I think "If Not Value", I have to translate that to "If Value is Nothing". Anywayz, different strokes for different folks.

Here's the code for init.php.

<?php

$host = 'removed.com';
$user = 'removed';
$pass = 'removed';


if (function_exists(getid) == false) {

	function getid() {

		// Declare globals
		global $host, $user, $pass;

		// Connect to MySQL database
		$db = mysql_connect ($host, $user, $pass);

		// Run insert query
		$query = "SELECT id, value FROM counters WHERE id = 'id' LIMIT 1";
		$result = mysql_db_query ('tickets', $query, $db);
		$row = mysql_fetch_row($result);

		// Add one to the counter
		$counter = $row[1];
		$counter = $counter + 1;

		// Run delete query
		$query = "DELETE FROM counters WHERE id = 'id'";
		mysql_db_query ('tickets', $query, $db);

		// Run insert query
		$query = "INSERT INTO counters (id, value) VALUES ('id', $counter)";
		mysql_db_query ('tickets', $query, $db);

		// Return results
		return $counter;

	};

};

?>

[Anon]

"I prefer the longhand if ($val == ''). That matches more how I "think". When I think "If Not Value", I have to translate that to "If Value is Nothing". Anywayz, different strokes for different folks. "

I have to agree... this is how I think as well.

[Anon]

dunno man. I can only recommend, if you are using Internet Explorer to test, that you do a ctrl-refresh. IE Sucks with caching.

[Anon]

I know you weren't asking about this file, but what is getid() supposed to be doing? It looks like a poor man's substitute for an autoincrement column (and it's especially poor because it's not multi-user safe.)

[Anon]

Kirk Parker wrote:

I know you weren't asking about this file, but what is getid() supposed to be doing? It looks like a poor man's substitute for an autoincrement column (and it's especially poor because it's not multi-user safe.)

Good point. Because I don't have many users, there is little potential for failure here. With MySQL, you can't edit a row that has an autonumber in it (without changing that number), so I wrote "the poor mans substitute" above. Do you have suggestions for improvement?

[Anon]

It took me several hours to fix this little problem. I have figured it out. Focus on the following lines in the program.

if ($password == '') {

	$error .= "- Password is Required.';

};


// Produce error
if ($error != '') {

	echo '<p>The following errors were encountered:</p>';
	echo "<p>$error</p>";		// It says there is an error on this line (31).

	exit;

};

If you notice (I didn't for a long time), the echo statement for that password errors above is as follows:

$error .= "- Password is Required.';

Because it opens with double quotes, the single quote at the end of the line does not close the statement. It continues to include the code in the echo statement, until it reaches another double quote (") which then makes the following function incorrect:

echo "<p>$error</p>";

This statement is actually evaluated as:

<p>$error</p>";

Which means nothing!

Joel